On April 15, 2008 at 07:45, cmckenney said...
But that’s all old history, we’re told, because those
cables were “analog.” With new “digital” cables (e.g.,
HDMI), quality is more important than ever. Indeed, the
term “digital” sounds more complicated and less familiar,
so we’re inclined to accept what we’re told. Still, knowledge
is power, so let’s examine the facts.
No. You've got it wrong. Analog signals are the ones that are affected by cable quality. Digital is only highs and lows, ons and offs, ones and zeros, trues and falses, whatever you want to call it...so cable quality is not the issue with digital.
In actuality, all signals are analog in nature.
You could say that, but that depends on how you define analog compared to digital. I'd say they're not.
Now, you start contradicting yourself.
As long as the digital signal isn’t degraded so much that the 0/1 measurement is made in error, the receiver will receive the transmitted signal with no imperfections. Even better, most signals include extra data bits used to check and reconstruct the transmitted data, so that even if an occasional 0/1 is received incorrectly, it can usually be fixed, again resulting in a perfect signal.
Very true.
A higher quality cable may increase the difference between the high and low voltages, but anything better than “good enough” does not provide an improvement. An acceptable 0 or 1 (upper trace) and an exemplary 0 or 1 (lower trace) convey the exact same information.
Again, true.
So how do you know if your cable is good enough? Analog signals degrade gracefully. A slightly-damaged analog signal can sound very similar to a good one, such that only trained ears might hear a difference. However, with a digital signal, the effect of even a few uncorrected 0s and 1s is likely to create obvious distortion of picture or sound. Thus, if your HDMI signal sounds and looks good, it is most likely just fine.
True.
Gold-plated connectors resist oxidation and rust, and can be found even on mid-priced cables. But if you connect a gold cable to a non-gold connector (like on the back of your receiver), oxidation can still occur on the non-gold surface. Unplugging and re-plugging your cables once a year can help keep them clean.
True, but irrelevant, unless you're keeping your equipment outside on the beach.
Bottom line: If a digital cable can correctly convey 1s and 0s, further improvements have no benefit. For analog signals, regular cables have only a negligible effect on the quality of the signal, so even though an exotic cable may reduce that effect, it’s unlikely that the difference would be audible.
Pretty much true. I'm not saying that a factory-equipped RCA cable will be as good as a custom made one, but for the most part, it's not noticable.
I don't exactly get what you're saying. The article is correct, but your synopsis post seems to contradict it.
